A truck artist, Haider Ali is committed to bridge gap between people of India and Pakistan by exhibiting their shared culture, communal harmonies, human heroes , heritage buildings in a colorful pattern of paintings on trucks both in India and Pakistan.
Having roots in India, Haider Ali is all committed to promote Indo Pak friendship through his creative art of truck painting which, according to him, spreads message of peace and showcase cultures of different regions through the length and breath of Pakistan.
Haider Ali, 32, is in India to paint his first truck at Sarhad, a restaurant near Attari border. While talking to Times Of India on Sunday, he said many persons who had migrated to Pakistan from different cities and were in transport business would ask him to paint symbolic buildings of their region or common heroes on their trucks. “Person from Agra would want Taj Mahal , another person from Delhi would want to see Jama Maszid on his truck and similarly someone from Peshawar region of Pakistan would like to get Kyber Gate painted on his truck” he said while adding that demand was endless as everyone wanted to decorate their trucks.
He said his father Mohammad Sardar hailed from Jalandhar and was a painter by profession. Most common themes of truck painting were the joint culture of Indo Pak villages like women sitting near well, drawing water from well, taking food for her husband to fields. “Both countries share similar culture and depiction of the same gives me immense pleasure as it helps bridging differences among people”.
Bolloywood crazy truck drivers and owners first choice was getting their trucks painted with photographs of Ashiwarya Rai, Madhuri Dixit , Mamta Kulkarni and many liked Lady Diana’s and folk singer Atta Ullaha Khan’s paintings. On an average a truck driver or owner shell out anything between Rs 3 to 5 lakhs for the painting a truck, flouresecne tape and other steel material costs extra.
He has painted a truck for 2002 Smithsonian Folklife Festival for Rs 15 lakh and have also painted a vintage Bedford truck during an exhibition held by Luton Cultural Service Trust. He said it takes 2 to 25 members of team to paint a big truck- depending on the work. Aman Jaspal , owner of the restaurant said he had met Haider Ali during one of his trip to Pakistan and was impressed to see his truck painting art and decided to introduce him in India . Haider said many local truck and tractor owners had started approaching him for getting their vehicles painted in typical Pakistani style.
An artist’s bid to bridge the India-Pakistan gap
